Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Triple Your Pleasure

It's party time at On Life & Other Inconveniences as we celebrate great new books hitting the shelves today. Tom Piccirilli and Barbara Fister are my special guests for a three-way book launch! Cool, huh? We're book launch triplets. Before we crack open the champagne and 70s disco music (so Tom feels more at home*) I weaseled a little bit of information out of Barbara and Tom.

First up: Barbara Fister A moderator for the wondrous list, 4MA, Barbara works in a library and has the nickname Barfly. Really, the keg I ordered is just for her... (Okay, seriously, I have no idea how she got the nickname, but I wish I had a cool nickname like that!)

Your new book is called IN THE WIND. Where did the idea for the title come from?

Well, it’s a Dylan reference tied to the fact the story is about a Vietnam War-era crime, and a reference to the setting (the Windy City), and slang for being a fugitive, which is the status of the character in the book who my narrator is helping, a woman who is being hunted now for the murder of an FBI agent 35 years ago. Also, I seem to have a prepositional phrase thing going on with my titles . . .

What's the hardest thing for you about writing? What's the easiest?

I need a lot of time these days for ideas to ripen, for the shape and feeling of a story to emerge. I don’t know if it’s because I am a more critical reader, so have higher standards than when I first started to write fiction, or if I’m just slowing down. At the moment, revisions may be the easiest part because I have an editor who is very good at putting her finger on things she feels need work, and I kind of enjoy renovating manuscripts.

What's the one thing you most want readers to take from the experience of reading IN THE WIND?

I hope they enjoy the ride while having something engaging to think about. It’s quite a political story, but also one with a strong emotional component.

What do Barbara Fister and Anni Koskinen have in common? What things are opposite about Anni and Barbara?

I hope I have some of the moral fiber that Anni has, and her sense of justice. But she’s braver than I am, and she’s spent ten years as a cop in a very rough part of town, while I’m a librarian and am too soft-hearted to even scold the students when they act up. I had a pleasant, safe childhood in a university town, but she’s a mixed-race woman who was abandoned by her mother and grew up in foster care trying to look after an autistic brother. I think we’d get along, though, wimp that I am.

As a native of Wisconsin and a current resident of Minnesota, why Chicago?

The short answer is that I live in a very small town, and I’d rather live in a very big city, so I do it vicariously. Chicago is in many ways the quintessential American city. It’s diverse and has over 200 distinct neighborhoods, including pockets of terrible poverty. There’s certainly no shortage of crime to go around. But it is nevertheless amazingly friendly. I’ve spent a fair amount of time there and just fell in love with the place.

I'm an emotional guy, and of course most of my protagonists, no matter what their backgrounds, are as well. But I wanted my protagonist in this one, Chase, to have a place where he could go inside himself where all the frustration and fear and pain is cooled down so that he can put on an icy demeanor and get the task at hand done. In this case, it's about getting revenge on a group of diamond heisters who've done some very bad things, and so he has to tap into a very dark portion of himself to help him keep after them.

THE COLD SPOT marks the launch of a new series. What do you like most about the idea of continuing with Chase in future books?

There's a great deal of backstory between my young thief Chase and his career criminal grandfather. There's a deep well there that I can return to again and again, and I can keep plying the action and the painful personal history between them.

You've written in different genres. Does that help keep you on your toes as an author, keep you from coasting? What do you like most about switching genres?

It's not so much about keeping me on my toes as it is about allowing me to become a part of the literature that I enjoy and admire so much. I read all kinds of fiction, all across the board, from SF to high fantasy to horror to thrillers, so it only makes sense that I'd want to somehow impress myself upon the history of those various fields. I want to take the elments that make up those other genres and distill them through my own style, themes, and voice to see if I can manage to make some small mark on those different types of fiction.

You've had numerous books published over the years. I'm going to ask an evil question... which is your personal favorite and why?

I think I have two. THE DEAD LETTERS and THE COLD SPOT, and I think they're my favorites for the same reason. They each have very forward-driving front stories but also have a lot of depth were personal themes are concerned. They're my most mature works, meaning I was stretching myself quite a bit to talk about matters that are very important to me, and yet I think they're both very fun books. I managed to say what I wanted to say about the world and not get in my own way while doing it.

With all the experience you have with the book business, do you get nervous when a new book is coming out?

No, not at all. If I was going on major book tours or showing up on Oprah, it would be a whole different thing. But as it is, I just look forward to reader reaction and hope the books keep selling.

Now, it's a three-way book launch because (as most of you know) today also marks the official release of my new book. I don't think anyone needs to hear more from me...

I've collected together all the great reviews that have come in so far at my website.

And today, I'm on the Oprah of the blogs... CRIMERANT, where award-winning authors Gregg Olsen and M. William Phelps tackle the latest in true crime. My own part of the story will be familiar to some, but it connects to the context of what I'm talking about, and it's probably the most extensive account of the incident I've ever given online, plus there's a hint about what readers have to look forward to in WHAT BURNS WITHIN's follow-up, THE FRAILTY OF FLESH, due out in November. You can check it out here.

Or carry on with the partying, and don't forget to congratulate Tom and Barbara! My thanks to them for joining me here, 'cos I'll be honest, sitting here just talking about my own book wouldn't be nearly as much fun. When you're trying to get a book deal you just dream about getting published, and never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'd be sharing an online book launch party with two such talented and amazing people.

Cue Classic Party Music...

(Not always a fan of amateur takes on classic songs, but this one has some pretty good shots.)

New Blog Address

I'll still do teasers here for the new blog for a while until people have a chance to update their links, but commenting on this blog has been disabled.

THE FRAILTY OF FLESH

What are they saying about THE FRAILTY OF FLESH?

"Sandra Ruttan's sequel to What Burns Within... is better than the first. A four-year-old is beaten to death in a park. The child's brother, hiding in the nearby brush, claims that his older sister killed the boy. Furthermore, the sister is missing.

"Criminous kids are bad enough, but Ruttan, a disciple of the Val McDermid school, takes things a bit further. To say more is to give away a terrific plot."

- Margaret Cannon, THE GLOBE AND MAIL

"The fallout from the last time their cases intersected still haunts the three major protagonists in this stark procedural. Each is haunted by major baggage that can't help but affect current cases. The talented Ruttan turns a spotlight on the gritty reality of law enforcement for these Canadian constables, and the result is truly convoluted and disturbing."

- Romantic Times Book Reviews

"Ruttan's complex web of dialogue and narrative leads us gradually deeper into the lives of those caught up in the crime, including the detectives, creating a distinctive and potent novel...

"In the gap before the relase of further installments in the series it would be interesting to go back and reread the first two novels, to dig deeper into things only partly revealed about the three detectives and even about the cases already investigated. Ruttan's ability to pique the curiosity of the reader even about novels already read once (and even read recently) is a testament to the intricacy of her stories and the depth of her characters."

- Glenn Harper, International Noir Fiction

"Ruttan is Ian Rankin with ovaries."

- Jen Jordan, Crimespree Magazine

"The Frailty of Flesh is not only one of the best procedural thrillers I've read in a long time... but the ending knocked me right out of my seat."

- Crime Scene Scotland

"The Frailty of Flesh raises difficult questions and shuns easy answers. Sandra Ruttan writes with passion and honesty about every parent’s worst nightmare and the result is an emotionally wrenching experience."

- Sean Chercover, Shamus Award-Winning author of Big City, Bad Blood

"The complexity of the relationships among the players as well as the cases, past and present, are riveting. Whatever one might guess as to where the author is taking you, nothing can prepare the reader for the shocking resolution.

"The three protagonists are each skillfully drawn and certain to have Ms. Ruttan's readers anxious to know them better."

OUT NOW!

"Ruttan manages to keep multiple leads and seconds on the same page admirably... the straight proceduralism from Ruttan serves the story well through the rewarding climax."--Publishers Weekly

"A sizzling story by one of crime fiction's hot new voices."-- Rick Mofina, internationally best-selling author of A PERFECT GRAVE

"This story features a triple mystery and three main characters, who are interesting not only for their tangled group dynamic but also as individuals. The subject matter obviously is very grim, but the occasional banter between the constables helps to take the edge off. This is a good start to a new series I think will appeal to a variety of mystery lovers."--Fresh Fiction

"Sandra Ruttan writes with utter ferocity. Twists and turns that stun and dialog that absolutely crackles with wit and authenticity. With each page, Ruttan delivers the goods. WHAT BURNS WITHIN is a nonstop chiller of a mystery that keeps you turning the pages."-- GREGG OLSEN, New York Times Bestselling Author of A WICKED SNOW

"Promising talent Ruttan sets her gritty new detective series in Vancouver. It has a hard-edged feel and intriguing characters. ...this is a good start to an intriguing series."--Romantic Times Book Reviews

"Short and snappy chapters, terse dialogue, staccato delivery of minimalist descriptions -- Ruttan's style harks back to the classic hardboiled era....Ruttan is very much a shower rather than a teller: there are very few internal monologues to be heard in WHAT BURNS WITHIN, the subtleties of the characters' complex psychologies being drawn out through their interactions with their colleagues. That's a difficult skill to make invisible, but it's one of Ruttan's most effective weapons."--Declan Burke, Crime Always Pays

"Ruttan effortlessly brings to life a varied cast of complex characters. She writes with tremendous passion, honesty and skill. This is a story you will care about."-- Allan Guthrie, Edgar Nominated Author of KISS HER GOODBYE

"A totally mesmerizing narrative and a plot that burns off the page."-- Ken Bruen, Shamus Award-Winning Author of THE GUARDS

“WHAT BURNS WITHIN reads like a favorite television series. A large cast, lots of dialogue to advance the plot, a great setting, and well-drawn characters make for a compelling police procedural.”-- Anne Frasier, USA Today Bestselling Author of HUSH, SLEEP TIGHT & PLAY DEAD